Munich.
Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) and co-driver Tom Colsoul (BEL) were the
first of the MINI crews to head out on Leg 9 with the desert-type
special stage in view. Dunes, dust and heat were the toughest
competition today for this MINI Family crew and it affected their
Leg 9 result. The #101 MINI John Cooper Works Rally crossed the
special stage finish line in ninth.

Al Rahji: “Today it was a good stage. I don’t know
what was going on but the temperature was very high. It was ok but we
lost a bit in the middle. We followed Bryce in the middle of the stage
but then another car came along so we had to push. So we drive but
don’t push too hard, just a little bit.”

It was the same dust and heat story for the #105 MINI John Cooper
Works Rally as they entered the first big dunes in Chinese territory.
The dunes then made way for some harsh tracks and harsher off-road
tracks in the valley sections. These areas and tough navigation played
their part in holding back Menzies but not nearly as much as the two
punctures that lost them positions and time. The pair eventually
followed the other MINI John Cooper Works Rally across the finish
point in tenth place.

Menzies: “Leg 9 started out really well in the dunes.
We caught competitors pretty quick and we ran behind them. Then we saw
a front runner had pulled off a little but he’d hit a ditch and we
think he had ripped one of the corners off. After that we were kind of
just playing cautious knowing that we’d made up a bunch of time on
him. We were then sitting behind another car in its dust and got a
flat tyre. We were changing that but two cars went by us. Then we
missed a road and then got another flat towards the end. All in all a
decent stage but very tough – it’s worn me out for sure.”

Tomorrow’s Leg 10 of Silk Way Rally 2017, Hami – Dunhuang, takes in
517.53km, of which 360.28 are special stage consisting of fast and
technical sections with lots of changes in direction.